ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To develop an HPLC method for simultaneous determination of rutin, hyperoside, quercetin and kaempferol in Malus prunifolia from Shanxi province in China.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The separation was performed on a Hypersil C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm), using a gradient elution with methanol-water containing 0.2% phosphoric acid as the mobile phase. The flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1), the detection wavelength was 360 nm and the temperature of column was 25 degrees T.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The linear ranges of rutin, hyperoside, quercetin and kaempferol were 1.87-46.67 mg x L(-1), 6.40-160.0 mg x L(-1), 3.33-83.33 mg x L(-1), 0.80-20.00 mg x L(-1), respectively. The average recoveries (n=6) of the four constituents were 99.2% (RSD 2.9%), 98.2% (RSD 1.9%), 97.4% (RSD 2.3%), 97.2% (RSD 1.3%), respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The method was simple, accurate and can be used to evaluate medicinal value of Malus prunifolia.</p>